"Where've you been, ay? Trying to avoid the details are we? Well it's no good misses, 'cause you're gonna hear 'em anyway! Ha!" Nadine peered up at me and observed my reaction as I realised that she knew. She was a scraggy, malodorous girl, who never took the time out to make herself look even remotely respectable. Her hair was excessively long and twisted at the ends. Her face looked as though she had been trampled on by a bull and her clothes were fairly clean, yet tatty and torn.
"Who told you about this? It was supposed to be kept quiet." My stomach was now churning as I began to comprehend that there really was no getting out of this situation.
"What d'ya mean? The whole friggin' class knows, mate. We're all expectin' good results from tonight annall!"
"Tonight? Wait a minute - No one has told me exactly what I'm expected to do. I wasn't aware that I had to it tonight. Jen, you didn't tell me..." Jen was smiling in her usual gratified way as I shivered at the thought of what I was being told to do.
"Don't worry Kate, you'll be fine. All you have to do is listen carefully to what we tell you," The entire class suddenly began to gather around me with cruel, glaring eyes, "Firstly, climb over the fence, and then jump over the beam to get to the alarm box and de-activate the system..." Step by step my dare was explained to me, while I just sat and listened. I seemed to have no say whatsoever about it. That was one of the things that frightened me the most. "So, have you got it?"
"I'm not happy about this, but what choice do I have?" My classmates started to slide away from my chair back to their own tables as the teacher entered the room. They were all slyly grinning at me. That's when it really hit me; people were counting on me. I had to do it. But not just for them, for myself too.
"Good gal." I could hear members of the class softly chanting at me. This dare was going to earn me some respect; and I wanted that more than anything.
I glanced down at my watch: 10:15pm. My dare would commence in around three hours. My nerves were constantly growing stronger; I could feel the anguish burning away at my stomach. I couldn't believe it. It was almost time. This was to be the most adventurous thing I'd ever done in my entire life; and it wasn't even that daring. Every five minutes I was peering at the clock from the corner of my eye, all the time checking to see how long there was left for me to sit alone in my bedroom and worry about everything going smoothly. That's when the questions began to buzz through my mind; What if I get caught? What if my mind goes blank and I forget what to do? What if I see something that I really wish I hadn't? It was all too much for me. I was getting evermore apprehensive as the seconds flew past and the time became nearer. I was afraid that I might catch sight of something that I truly didn't want to see.
This was it. My dare. I made my way towards the school, with my sleeping bag and pillow safely tucked under my arm. One night, that was all. Just one night. But it didn't particularly matter how long, I was still scared. It was pitch black and my torch was extremely dim, so I felt blinded. Really, the only light visible to me was the school's scarlet-red alarm beam, which I could faintly see in the far distance. Focusing on that light, I paced myself forward, shivering from the wintry air. The only thoughts going through my mind were, 'Just get this over with. Take the pictures and get out.' Feeling into my pocket, I checked for my digital camera. If I hadn't brought that, then there wouldn't be much point in me doing the dare at all. But, sure enough, it was there, along with my mobile phone and a packet of strawberry laces. I didn't seem to be at all prepared.
After clambering over the metal fence, I anxiously walked down the rocky gravel path to the reception entrance. I shone my torch onto the large, stern door and slowly typed the code (which Jen had somehow discovered) into the small, rounded keypad attached. I heard a faint beep as I pushed the door open. I was inside. Without turning around, I heard the whistle of the wind gradually become quieter as the door closed behind me. First things first; I had to de-activate the beam. I looked down and noticed the thin, red line which ran straight across the floor, just a couple of centimetres from my legs. Pushing down onto my heels, I quickly leaped into the air and landed on the other side. Casting a brief look around, I suddenly spotted a little blue box on the wall. I crept over to it and clicked on the button which read 'de-act.'.
So far it had been rather simple; but then came the hardest part. I opened the doors which led out of the reception area and into a long, neverending corridoor. I felt a horridly cold, tingly feeling ride along my spine. Staring ahead, all I could see was blackness, like looking down into an endless well. I had the urge to scream, but decided to remain still. I was quivering severely as I carefully took uneasy steps forward. Too frightened to watch where I was going, I closed my eyes, squeezing them so tightly shut that I felt like they were going to bulge right out of their sockets. I tapped my hands along the walls in order to feel my way. Then, abruptly, I came to a halt when my hand fell into a space; a doorway. I didn't want to open my eyes because I was afraid of what I might see (as I had been told several times of strange happenings when school had finished) but I knew I had to, otherwise I wouldn't know where to go. I opened my right eye first, then my left. Turning to my right, I instantly recognised the room; it was my maths room. Feeling more familiar of my surroundings, I nudged the door open. The sight I caught made my heart skip a beat, jumping so fast that not even lightning would have been able to keep up with it. I steadily turned my head, eager to find a space to set up my sleeping bag and organise my camera, ready to take some proof photos. But instead of a space, all I could fix my eyes upon was the remarkably small, black, shadowy figure sitting on one of the tables. I fell backwards at this unclear sight. I wasn't sure what to make of it, so I decided to speak. "Excuse me. Don't you think it's quite late to be in school?" The figure's head turned to face me, and I felt thousands of fearful tears streaming down my face.
"If that is true, then why are you here yourself?" It was a male; although you couldn't really tell from his bleak facial features. His voice was extremely eerie; he had a certain tone that was freaky and definitely not normal.
"What's the matter with your voice?" I asked, cautioning myself from stepping any closer.
"I'm no longer with you." The strange creature began to sob. But I did not care for his feelings, I just wanted to leave. After blinking, I looked up and the figure was gone. I was confused, but I knew that no matter what, I needed proof that I'd been there. I reached into my pocket and felt for my camera, but I couldn't seem to find it. I dug deep into all my pockets, but it was definitely gone. That's when it suddenly clicked. I hadn't been paying attention before, from being so stunned, but the figure had croaked that he was 'no longer with' me. What did that mean?
Taking my eyes off my coat and facing onwards into the room again, I let out an enormous cry. My screams were so loud that I had probably awoken the entire village! The sight was blood-curdling. White fog, hauntingly horrifying faces with red eyes and thin strands of hair. I could almost smell the blood. I felt like I was in a torture chamber; like the school had once been used for other things. That's when I remembered. In my history lesson we'd been learning tersely about the history of our school; well, now I had seen it. Squinting my eyes to the floor, I silenced my screams. Only when it was silent could I hear the bellows; the desperate cries for help. Echoing and shrieking were the only sounds to be heard. I could feel the freezing gusts of the spirits blow against my cheeks as I hurriedly clicked my camera. I didn't actually look through the lens, but instead just whipped the camera around the room, taking as many photos as possible. I wasn't thinking clearly, I just knew I wanted to get out. Reaching to the floor and gathering my belongings, I plunged for the door.
Back in the corridoor, I could still feel the inclement cold zephyr blasting my face and neck. Torturous howls were tormenting my ears as I bolted through the lengthy black hole. I gulped. I felt as though I was a mouse trying to escape a predator, not knowing which way to turn in a limitless maze. Then; I saw the entrance doors. Without hesitation, I took one final dive to the giant, rigid doors and swung onto the handle. I heaved it open, tripping over my own feet, and scurried over the crispy frost on the grass to arrive at the gates. Scrambling over the fence, I glanced behind for one last time before falling to the ground and making an extremely fast exit. I stumbled many times before eventually reaching my destination; home. My wonderful, safe home. Creeping quietly up the creeking staircase, I wandered into my room, flicked off my filthy trainers and slipped peacefully into bed.
I rolled out of the side of my bed and landed with a bump on the carpet. I found it difficult to open my eyes because I was so incredibly tired. I was then awoken properly when my mum came to the door and knocked. But without waiting, she entered.
"You need to get up love. You're going to be late again this morning. My God! What on earth has happened in here?" I noticed my mum scuttling around my bedroom, tripping over dirty washing and picking up everything that appeared to be rubbish. Flashing back to the previous night's events, I let out a loud gasp.
"You alright, love?" She was staring at me with her freakishly goggly, round blue eyes. Her hair had not yet been brushed and was static and messy. Smiling at me gracefully, she repeated her question, "I asked if you were feeling okay, Kate. Well?"
Rubbing my eyes, I smiled back. "Yes, I'm fine. In fact, I feel great mum!" My reply seemed a little over-enthusiastic, however she believed it and skipped out of my bedroom, humming to herself cheerfully.
The doorbell rang. 'That'll be Jen', I thought to myself as I pulled up my jeans and fastened the button. I hovered on the staircase as mum opened the door, only to find all of my classmates gathering at the door. I ran downstairs to join them. "Hi. Why are you all here? You could have just waited until I got to school."
"We wanna know what 'appened, mate. That's why." Nadine shoved her way to the front of the crowd "Well, you gonna tell us or what?"
"I took loads of photos. But I don't particularly wanna talk about it. It wasn't nice, that's all I'm sayin'," I stuck my nose into the air and ordered them to leave - apart from Jen, of course.
"So?" She glared at me with an impatient expression on her face, "What did happen? Come on, you can tell me. I promise I won't tell." I knew she was lying, but I guess I needed to tell someone.
"It was awful. Absolutely awful!" I explained in detail the horrific nightmare which I had endured the night before. She had a sceptic look on her face and her arms were folded.
"Do you expect me to believe that? Come on, Kate. They were always just rumours."
"Oh yeah? I'll prove it to you. The photos."
We decided to skip our first lesson and nip to the local shop to get the film developed.
"Here you go. I have to tell you, though. They didn't come out too well." The woman held the photos over the counter. I didn't care for her comment and snatched the photos from her hand. Running out of the shop, I was excited about proving my terrifying experience. Handing the photos over to Jen, I grinned with satisfaction.
"But Kate, they're blank." I looked up at her, puzzled.
"What do you mean blank? I took loads. How can they all be blank?" My grin quickly disappeared from my face as I also peered down at the photos. She was right. They were totally black; not even a trace of what I had seen.
"I knew you wouldn't do it!" She laughed as we trudged onwards to school.
"Can anyone tell me what b multiplied by 2c is?" Mrs Webbe blurted out, ten minutes after writing a load of complete garbage on the blackboard. I had my eyes closed. I didn't want to be in the room. Despite it being full of other people and in total daylight, I just didn't want to be there. One week ago - that's all it was! But no one believed me - the photos were a catastrophie! So it's back to being me. Plain, boring old me. I put my hand up.
" fourty-eight miss." I practically whispered it to save myself from the taunts of my classmates, but it didn't work. The jeers and laughter began. I felt something sharp poke into my back and I secretly started to weep. 'I'm through with dares!' I thought, as I let a tear drip onto my maths book.